Still shocked by the attack that had happened in mere seconds, they sat frozen in place as death had arrived and taken someone right in front of them.
“The Duke of Soriel!” The butler entered the room, attracted by the noise. “What happened here, sir?”
“We don't know,” said Aryn. “We were sitting here, and he just dropped to the floor.”
The butler stared in horror at the duke's body and immediately ran out of the room, heading toward the castle's keep.
Soon, the doors opened, and the butler returned, hurrying the castellan along by the arm.
“What is happening- Aaaahhhhg!” Her eyes flew wide open, her mouth hung open, and she put her hands behind her head. “The proctor of Chanderay! What have you done, you good-for-nothing scrawny priestesses?!”
“We didn't do anything,” said Leheen, who had resumed eating.
The castellan quickly turned and walked toward the broken window, looking outside. Everything seemed normal. Even the guards hadn't noticed anything, as they stood in their usual positions.
“Then why is he dead? Look at him” the castellan said in a worried tone.
She approached the body and crouched beside it, looking from side to side as if trying to figure out whether she could somehow reanimate him. She pressed both hands against his chest, but nothing worked.
Defeated, she stood up, walked backward, and plopped into a chair, grabbing her face.
“Oh no, oh no, no! The Duke of Soriel is dead. He's dead! The demons are gonna skin me alive when they find ouuut!”
She slouched in the chair, sighing, and stole a piece of bread from Leheen's hand just as she was about to take a bite.
“Mm... Mmm. The bread is goob,” said the castellan as she chewed.
Then she turned to Aryn with a puppy eyes. “What am I gonna do?”
“Don't look at me like that! Aren't you a level 45 knight?”
“I am, but the Duke of Soriel is a very well-liked figure in Chanderay. When they find out what happened here, retaliation is inevitable. They're going to unleash who knows what kind of horrors upon the city. Wait, why is he here in the first place?” She stood up and walked around the body.
“He said he was coming to negotiate a truce. Why are you the castellan if you don't even know who's coming to the castle?” Aryn asked.
“Hehe.” She started fidgeting with her fingers. “I wrote it in my journal... but I forgot to read it.”
“Stop calling me castellan, okay? I have a name!” She pouted. “It's Coathyr.”
Coathyr looked at the body again and dropped to her knees, whining as if she had suddenly remembered what was happening. She hammered her fists against the duke's body.
“No, no, no! Look at this! All my efforts and tactics to keep the kingdom safe from the demonic troops, and now all of that has gone to waste!”
Coathyr desperately pointed at Aryn and Leheen. “Now you're going to stop whoever killed him. I'm in big trouble now!”
“How are we gonna beat whoever killed this guy? We're only level one and level five,” said Aryn.
Coathyr stormed out of the room. A minute later, she returned with a sword in its sheath, which she threw at Aryn. It landed in front of his feet.
“There's your sword. It's your fate to stop the war, so start by using it to beat the duke's assassin. I can't deal with this!”
She exited the room, and the doors of the dining room slammed shut.
“Coathyr is a real jerk. Very disorganized too.”
“I know.” Aryn picked up the sword. The sheath was attached to a wide belt, which he put on. Somehow, even though it wasn't an appropriate object for a priestess, Aryn felt a bit more powerful with it. He took a deep breath.
“Let's do this, then.”
They both stood in silence, looking down at the duke's body for several seconds.
“What now? The assassin fled, and we're not going to catch them. We couldn't even see their face,” said Leheen, covering her eyes with her hands.
Then Aryn remembered the few detective movies he had watched in his past life.
“True, we can't chase them, but we can look for them.”
“Ohhh, what are you talking about?”
“This is the body of the dead man. Maybe there's a clue that can tell us where to go so we can find the assassin, even if they're not here anymore. Maybe a weapon wound or something.”
“Is that possible? Are you some kind of mage or something?” Leheen asked excitedly.
It seemed that in this world, crimes weren't investigated unless someone had directly witnessed the criminal committing them. Aryn wasn't a professional, but with enough logical thinking and curiosity, anyone could be a detective. At least, that's what mystery novels said. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Hmm,” said Leheen. “The clues...”
The man had a large cape that covered his body like a vampire's. When he fell, he had been wrapped in it.
Aryn opened the cape. Underneath, the duke wore a noble's attire in different shades of black and white.
Aryn carefully examined the body, looking for any wounds, but there weren't any.
“This man has no signs of cuts, bruises, or anything. It's like no one ever touched him, but he still died. It's so weird.”
Aryn continued inspecting the noble's peculiar outfit. The man must have been eccentric, judging by his long hair, which was decorated with numerous golden pins.
“This guy seems rich. Maybe it was a matter of money?” Aryn said as he removed one of the pins.
It was shiny enough for him to see his reflection in it. Leheen leaned in to see herself, too, and moved around to distort the reflection.
“He had to be. He was a duke, after all,” said Leheen. “But the guy who killed him didn't want any of his stuff.”
“Yeah, you're right. So... it wasn't about money. But what was it? What reason could someone in this world have to kill this man, and how did they do it?”
He examined the duke's neck. At first glance, there were no marks from claws, blades, or even hands. There were only some marks resembling those left by a chain, but there was no chain.
“Look at that,” said Aryn. “There are some marks on his neck, though they don't look recent. If someone had pulled on a collar, the skin would be red, but it looks more like his skin had grown accustomed to the shape of the chain, and he just isn't wearing it now.”
“He must have worn it a lot, then.” Leheen poked the marks with her finger. “To get those marks, he might have even bathed with it on. But why stop wearing it now?”
“Maybe he lost it.”
They investigated the body further, patting him down until they reached his pants pockets. Aryn felt something in the right one.
“Aha!” Aryn said, putting his hand into the pocket and pulling out a key.
“Ooh, a key!” Leheen cupped her chin with one hand. “But wait. I've seen that key somewhere before.”
“Really? Where?”
Leheen snatched the key from his hand, and they both left the dining room.